Dead arsonist said 'I am a champion'

by jgould

Joel Gould
Journalist
Joel is a journalist with 20 years of experience and since February, 2011 he has been the late reporter at The Queensland Times. Joel specialises in longer features and as the late reporter he chases all the breaking stories that unfold in the evenings. A die hard rugby league fan, Joel has been pushing hard for the Western Corridor bid to be admitted into the NRL.

De Graaf, a senior relationship manager with Healthcare at ANZ, died Tuesday night in Royal Brisbane Hospital from the burns he suffered in the attack on Monday night.

De Graaf had rammed his black BMW into the home of the mother of his former love interest, April Laing, and poured two canisters of accelerant around the two-storey property before setting it on fire with the family still inside.

HORROR: The arson attack by Neil De Graaf on this Brookwater home resulted in his own death.David Nielsen

But two days earlier, on his Facebook page, he made grandiose statements like a man sure he was destined for glory.

"I'm feeling inspirational, like I'm going to achieve something great this year," he wrote on Saturday at 8.20am in his final post.

"I want to share success with those I care about and I want them to be successful too, whatever that looks like for you.

"Let me know if I can help in any way, to support you or help you be successful. I'm 100% genuine with this offer."

De Graaf also linked to an inspirational speech on You Tube, made in the US, called 'I am a champion'.

The clip has had over 18 million views.

In it the speaker continually asks his audience "Who am I?" and answers it in unison with the audience with "I am a champion".

Included in the speech are phrases like "I will conquer what has not been conquered", "I will acknowledge my opponents do not expect me to win, but I will never surrender" and "I will rip the heart from my enemy and leave it bleeding on the ground because he cannot stop me".

De Graaf went on to say that he played the video before he would train, or while training if he felt he could not push any harder.

"Failure is the condiment that makes success taste so good," he wrote.

"I have the champion mindset, because I am and will be a champion. I love this positive mindset thinking."

De Graaf, a fan of the band Pearl Jam, urged his readers to become stronger and "take from life and the world what you want".

"Because you are a good person... you chose to become the best version of yourself you could be," he wrote on Facebook.

"A true champion lifts those around them up with them. A champion creates other champions."